It's All In My Mind?
by ReelThrills
Summary: After finding a bizarre video in his garage, a father starts seeing things late at night. Is it just his imagination, or something more sinister? (Updated Apr. 2016)
1. Chapter 1

**IT'S ALL IN MY MIND?**

© 2013-2016

I do not own the copyrights to Sinister, or anything mentioned in the story. This is a fan effort, made for fun and not profit. This story does have graphic imagery…as a fanfic based on a horror film likely should.

I have tried my best to get all details right; what I could not discern, I made my best guess. (It's tough trying to get details from grainy film clips…) I did add a bit of my own fanon to the Sinister mythos. Most of this story was written from Sep. 2013 to Jun. 2014. I updated it in Apr. 2016 to clear up scene transitions and do some slight dialogue edits.

**_CHAPTER 1: Dredging Up The Past_**

**SUNDAY**

"OK kids, bedtime, there's school in the morning!" Ed's deep voice called out from the bedroom. A tall man with thick, curly brown hair, Ed tightened the belt on his red robe as looked back at his wife, Marnie. She had already changed out of her clothes, wearing a long pink nightgown, and was taking the yellow hairband off her black ponytail. Ed stepped out of the bedroom to see his youngest daughter, 10-year old Stacy, walk briskly up to him. "Did your homework?"

"Yep!" The little girl in the pink pajamas smiled at him. "Fractions are actually pretty easy!"

"Good work!" Ed rumpled his daughter's long brown hair. "You're a lot better at math then your dear old dad was!" He kissed his daughter on the cheek. "Love you, honey. See you in the morning!" As she retreated into her bedroom, 12-year old Lucy made her way upstairs. "How about you, Lucy? You did your homework, right?"

"Ugh, yeah." She made a face as she pushed her long black hair behind her shoulders. "If I have to read another page of that boring Dickens book, I'm going to scream. This school stinks."

"Don't lose hope, honey! It's only October, you can't give up now!"

Lucy let out an exaggerated sigh. "Fine, dad, I'll try!"

"Now, I want you to go to bed for real, Lucy…no trying to sneak downstairs for TV again!"

Lucy smirked. "I'll try!" She chuckled, then kissed her father on the cheek. "Love you!" she called out as she went into her bedroom.

"You going to go to bed too, dear?" Marnie asked as she approached him from behind.

He shrugged. "I'm not all that tired…I think I'll clean up the garage a little."

"Oh, Ed!" Marnie chuckled. "You're _always_ spending time in the garage! I swear, one day you'll move the bed down there!"

"Why bother, I could just sleep in the minivan! It's big enough!" The two shared a laugh, then a kiss. "I'll be up soon honey!" Marnie retreated into the bedroom as Ed went downstairs, turning to the right and heading into the garage. He flipped on the light; the garage was nice and roomy. Ed always liked hanging around the garage, even as a kid; he felt it gave him a great feeling of solitude. He couldn't quite explain it. As such, every house he had ever lived in had one.

On one end of the garage was Marnie's van, a brand new white Dodge Caravan purchased just two months before. On the other was a shelf stacked with old home videos. Marnie's family had a lot of old Super 8 videos, and this was the only place with room to store them all. The week before, Ed had painstakingly arranged all of the videos in four cardboard boxes, in chronological order. Ed noticed that the first box, labeled '1966-1970', was open. That's odd, he hadn't moved it lately. Well, as long as he was in here, might as well watch a few videos. After all, what was the harm in bringing out old memories?

Ed set the projector onto a table, and loaded in the earliest reel, labeled 'Enid's 80th, 3-11-66'. Ed took a seat in a beat-up lawn chair and smiled as it started up, the images silently projected onto the bare wall. That had to be Marnie's old house; Ed recognized the garish green the living room was painted. A silver-haired lady with wire-framed glasses and many wrinkles blew out candles on a cake. The camera turned left and right to show the other family members clapping and cheering; Ed recognized most of them from Marnie's photo albums. A few smiled and waved at the camera; at least one little boy held up a handwritten sign that said 'Hi Mom!'. Ed stopped the projector and took the reel out.

Ed then removed the second reel, 'Disneyland, 10-5-66', from the box. He put it in…sure enough, there was the familiar Disneyland castle, quickly cutting to footage of the Jungle Cruise. He smiled at the sight of the little girl in the video, who was excitedly pointing. The girl was a spitting image of both Marnie and Lucy. Same long black hair, same bright smile. Good looks run in the family, he thought. The reel cut to the girl and their family eating lunch outside one of the rides, at which point Ed stopped it.

Ed put the Disneyland reel back in and took the third and final 1966 reel in the box…one labeled 'Pool Party '66'. He remembered placing it last, because the exact date hadn't been written on it like the other two. The video started up, showing a pretty woman in a green bikini standing in a pool, smacking an orange beach ball. Ed watched as the video silently showed the rest of the family, swimming around, enjoying themselves. There were five family members in all; the parents, a girl in her mid-teens, a shorter girl who appeared to be about 12, and a boy who looked to be about 9. As the video continued, he realized he didn't recognize anyone in it; the people here didn't look like Marnie's family, and this definitely wasn't her house. The camerawork was also different; nobody bothered to acknowledge the cameraman. Ed watched as the family sat down to eat and drink, smiling and joking about something.

He was about to take the reel out when he noticed that the scene had suddenly switched from day to night, still showing the pool. The camera then turned to show the table where they ate, something glowing green inside the pitcher. Then it turned more, showing the father lying on a beach chair, tied to it with duct tape. Ed also noticed a cinder block tied to the chair, and a rope tied to the top of it.

"What the…"

The camera pulled back to reveal three more people given the same treatment…all of them the same family members who were laughing and having fun earlier. He then saw one of the ropes being pulled, and the chair with the mother went into the pool. The chair landed standing up; the woman's feet stuck out of the water, jerking about, trying desperately to free herself. As she kept twitching, one by one the other three chairs were pulled into the water…first the two girls, then the father. Ed stared in disbelief; was this video for real? The cameraman kept his gaze on the pool, stopping at a pitch black figure. It looked like someone standing on the bottom of the pool. The figure turned to look up at the camera; it seemed to have a white, vaguely human face. With that, the video ended.

Ed sat in his chair, stunned and numb, for over a half hour.


	2. Chapter 2

_**CHAPTER 2: Can You Keep A Secret?**_

**MONDAY**

"Here's a cut off Jimmy Buffett's latest alb-KSSSSH-the new performing arts center is-KSSSSH-real straight, and yes I cut my hair!"

Ed drove his silver sedan through the morning traffic. He kept tuning the radio dial, trying his hardest to get that terrible video out of his head. But as he drove down the street, all he could think about was seeing that family tied up…that one woman's feet twitching just above the water…that strange man standing on the floor of the pool. Where the hell did the video come from? Was this someone's idea of a joke? If it was, it was a pretty sick one.

Ed parked his car in the lot, straightening his burgundy tie in the mirror. He then stepped into the offices of the Cameron-Muller Accounting Firm, climbing the stairs to his third floor office. He had only been working there a month, having to take a job there when his old accounting firm went out of business. So far it was a good place to work; everyone had been quite cordial to him. Ed gave everyone a polite wave and smile as he made his way to his office, doing a good job at hiding his discomfort.

The next few hours were very hard for Ed. It was impossible to focus on his work, the numbers and names on his computer screen seeming to blur together, various images from the wretched reel occasionally popping into his mind.

At long last it was lunchtime; maybe talking to someone about this would help him feel better. Ed walked into the lunchroom and waved to his old friend Herbert, who was already seated, a BLT in front of him. Herbert was a tall man in his late 30s. He was well tanned, his cheeks dotted with brown dimples. Herbert's dark brown hair was very neatly combed to the left side. His large glasses and blue dress shirt gave him an intellectual air.

Herbert and Ed had gone to college together, both getting degrees in accounting. They ended up getting jobs at different accounting firms, but still regularly kept in touch. Herbert had worked at Cameron-Muller ever since he graduated; when Ed's firm went under, Herbert said he could put in a good word to his bosses about him. It worked, and Ed had transitioned to the new firm smoothly.

"Hey, Eddie! What's up?" Herbert noticed that Ed looked nervous as he sat down. "Um, Ed? You OK there?"

Ed took a deep breath. "Herbert…if I tell you this, you promise not to tell anyone else? I'm about to trust you with something big. Real big."

Herbert took a moment to think. "OK…I'm ready."

Ed briefly looked around; Herbert was the only other person in the room. Ed sighed and turned his attention to his friend. "OK. So I was poking around the garage last night. Marnie was using the space to store some of her family's old Super 8 films."

"People still use those?"

"Apparently." Ed shrugged. "Anyway, I went and watched a couple of them, and they were pretty standard stuff…birthday parties, trips to Disney…but there was one reel in there that was just bizarre."

"What do you mean, bizarre?"

Ed described the video for him, not leaving out a single detail. Herbert's face got more and more confused the longer Ed went on. When he finished, Herbert sighed, tapping his finger on the table. "And this other guy watching them…from the bottom of the pool."

"I'm serious, just calmly standing there at the bottom!"

"In a swimsuit?"

"No…he was dressed like a freakin' Kiss member!"

Herbert raised an eyebrow. "Is this your idea of a joke?"

"Herbert, we've known each other for years…I wouldn't joke about shit like this."

Herbert nodded, still looking skeptical. "You said the films in that box were Marnie's, right?"

"Yes, they are…"

"Then maybe one of her relatives made it. I'll be honest, this sounds more to me like someone was making a horror movie and forgot about finishing it. If someone was standing at the bottom of the pool, they could have had some breathing apparatus under a white mask."

"OK, that makes sense." Ed started to feel a bit better about it. "I mean, there had to be a logical explanation for it."

"What, you're not a believer in ghosts, Ed?" Herbert chided.

"Nope…as unsettling as that video was, I figured there had to be an explanation that made sense! I'll ask Marnie about it tonight. Thanks for listening, Herb."

"Any time…I just hope your next problem isn't this weird!"

* * *

"Eat up, girls!" Marnie was wearing a colorful shirt with large drawings of fruit on it. She lay the plates of mashed potatoes, stuffing, and chicken in front of her two girls. Lucy had on a bright green shirt, Stacy wore a white one covered with red hearts. The girls were at the dinner table, lost in conversation.

"So who was your favorite pony in that movie?" Stacy asked her sister.

Lucy smirked. "Spike!"

Stacy giggled. "Lucy, Spike's a _dragon_, not a pony!"

"Oh fine!" Lucy threw her hands up in the air. "The blue one. There was a blue one, right?"

"Just take it, Stace, that's the best you'll get from your sister!" Marnie laughed as she sat down. She looked across the table at Ed, who seemed to be staring down his plate instead of eating. The only thing he had touched was his bottle of Budweiser; it was completely finished, the opposite of his plate. "Ed? You OK there?"

Ed looked up. "Yeah, I'm fine…Marnie, can I just see you in the garage real quick?

"Um, sure…" Marnie got up and walked into the garage, Ed following closely behind. Once the two were in the garage alone, Ed started the projector, playing 'Pool Party '66' from the beginning.

"Just watch this video for me, all right?" Ed asked as the doomed family was projected onto the wall. Ed had a pained look on his face, while Marnie simply studied the people in it, her expression revealing nothing. Ed stopped the projector just as the nighttime scene began, stopping it before Marnie could see the brutal ending. "Well?"

Marnie turned and smiled at him. "Looked like a nice place. Was that your family, Ed?"

Ed blinked in surprise. "No, it's not mine…then that's nobody you know?"

"No." Marnie shook her head. "I don't recognize anyone."

"What about the house, that look familiar?"

"Nope…never been there."

"Then how did we get this video?"

"Beats me. I'd just throw it out or donate it if I were you."

"I'd like nothing better." Ed chuckled as he kissed Marnie on the cheek. "Be right out!" Marnie walked out as Ed opened up the box of reels. Ed was disappointed; instead of solving the mystery, Herbert's theory only muddled things more. As he arranged the reels in the proper order, he thought he heard a soft click.

Ed turned around to see that the projector was running again, the Pool Party reel playing right where it left off, panning across the tied up family. Ed walked over and flipped the camera off, this time taking the reel out of the projector. He took another look at the reel…he should have realized something was off about it. The reel's case wasn't even the same color, and the handwriting didn't matching the rest of the reels. Ed put the reel back in its box and headed back into the kitchen. The only occupant was Lucy, talking on the kitchen phone.

"And you'll never guess who called me cute. Nope…Ned Peterson! Can you believe a hunk like him likes me? I know he's not the-"

"Lucy…" Ed tapped his watch. "School night."

"Sorry Allison, gotta go." Lucy said, annoyed. "Bedtime calls. See you tomorrow!" Lucy hung up the phone and walked upstairs. As she did, Marnie approached Ed.

"She's on the phone an awful lot, isn't she?" Ed asked.

"Hours on end…maybe we should get Lucy a mobile phone!"

"That'd be a thousand-dollar investment!" Ed chuckled. "Plus with the way she acts, no guarantee she'll be grateful!"

"I think we should lay off her a bit though. First off, she's almost a teenager, she's beginning to enter a rebellious phase. You know you did when you were younger, Ed!"

Ed raised his hands in mock protest. "Hey, long hair was in at the time!"

"Also, remember that Lucy's been tense…it's been a rough few weeks. And right now Allison's the only real friend she has. Starting seventh grade in a brand new school? That has to be nerve-wracking."

"OK, I'll try not to be so rough on her!"

"Good!" She kissed Ed on the cheek. "Now come on and relax. It'll be good to get your mind off of work for a bit."

* * *

The rest of the night was proving calm. The kids were in bed, Marnie and Ed watching the late night talk shows. They shut the TV off shortly after midnight, and headed upstairs. Marnie went straight for the bedroom and lay on the bed, Ed went into the bathroom. Ed brushed his teeth, swishing the Listerine around, attempting to get rid of the taste of Budweiser. He had two bottles of Bud that night…probably not a good idea, but he felt he needed them to calm his nerves. As he stepped out into the dark hallway he looked to the left, seeing nothing in his bedroom. He then looked to the right, and saw someone standing at the top of the staircase.

Ed blinked a few times…it was dark, but it appeared to be the same boy from the Pool Party video. He looked like he hadn't aged a day since 1966, and the only thing he was wearing was a pair of gray swim trunks. The same trunks he wore in the video. Ed stepped closer to him; as he did, he noticed the boy's skin had a sickly yellow palor, veins showing in various areas, and dark circles around his eyes. The boy slowly turned his head toward Ed, an angry look on his face. He then ran down the stairs, not making a sound as he did so.

Strange…even with the carpeting, someone running down with that speed should make SOME noise. Ed went down the stairs, keeping his hand on the banister as he descended. He looked to the left, and there was the boy, standing right in the middle of the living room; the couch behind him, the recliner to the left, the large window to the right. Light from the streetlights outside shone in from the window, illuminating the boy. He still had the same dour expression. As Ed approached, putting one hand on the light switch, the boy pressed his finger to his lips.

"Shhhhhhhhhhhhh…"

"Who are you?!" Ed called out as he flipped on the living room lights.

The boy wasn't there.

Ed shook his head quickly; maybe he had imagined seeing the boy. He turned the lights back off; the boy was still gone. No matter how many times he flicked the lights on and off, the kid didn't return. "Shit…I'm seeing things." As he looked out the window, he thought he saw the white-faced figure in the distance, standing in the middle of the road. He blinked, and the figure disappeared. The only sound that could be heard was a dog loudly barking.

"Wow…how much DID I have to drink…"


	3. Chapter 3

_**CHAPTER 3: Two Heads Are Better Than One**_

**TUESDAY**

Another day at work, and it was even harder for Ed to focus than before. Going over old files and putting in numbers should have been a breeze, but he was making mistakes all over the place. It was a good thing he was double-checking all his work; a slip-up might be severe. But as he worked, his mind kept going back to what he saw last night. If that was the same kid he saw in the reel, it would mean the film was current, not from 1966.

But then how did the kid get in his house at all? And it still didn't answer where the movie came from. It was getting harder and harder to find logic with this video.

Ed checked his watch; a few minutes past noon. Might as well get lunch out of the way. He stepped into the lunchroom, seeing Herbert talking to another accountant, a man with a pinstriped dress shirt and jet black mullet.

"You haven't seen Jeopardy lately, Herb?" The co-worker asked in a high voice. "Well they changed its set a little, and it looks pretty goo-"

"Sorry to cut in." Ed walked over to the two of them. "Herbert, can I have a word with you?"

"Sure thing! Be right back, Neal!" Herbert and Ed walked over to another table, sitting far from the confused-looking co-worker. "Is this about that reel again, Ed?"

"Yeah…Marnie had no idea where the video came from."

"None at all?"

"She didn't recognize anything in there. What's worse…I think that video affected me a little too much. I thought I saw the kid from that video running around the house."

"The little boy?"

"Yes, except he looked…off…his skin was so pale and veiny. Like a zombie. And then I saw demon metal guy standing outside."

Herbert looked at his friend incredulously. "Ed…are you on a new medication?"

Ed scoffed at the thought. "I had two beers, that's it."

"Well, there has to be an explanation for this. It sounds like you're hallucinating now…this is dangerous, Ed. You don't want to lose your mind over something like this."

Ed sighed, resting his head in his hand. "Maybe it's just that I have been under a lot of stress lately…suddenly jumping off to a new firm, Lucy's been acting up, and that video…I think it's driving me nuts."

Herbert put his hand on Ed's shoulder. "Hey, it's easy to see why you're so deeply affected by that thing. Seriously, to tie up a boy and drag him into the pool…even for a movie, making that scene must take a really sick mind."

Ed blinked. "Actually, come to think of it…that kid wasn't in that part."

Herbert looked confused. "What?"

"In fact, he's the only one who wasn't! It was the parents and two girls, the boy was nowhere!"

"So how come _he's_ the only one showing up in your night terror?"

"Him and the…metalhead or whatever the hell he is."

"Hell might be the appropriate word in this case." Herbert sighed. "But if the kid was nowhere, then where was he? Was he the one pulling everyone in the pool?"

"Are you actually suggesting a little boy pulled his entire family into the pool without breaking a sweat?"

"You told me that metalhead was standing at the bottom of the pool with no problem. Logic doesn't seem to exist in this video."

Ed ran his fingers through his hair. Herbert had a point. "OK, maybe we should research this video. Herb, do you mind?"

Herbert sucked air in through his teeth. "I don't even know where to begin looking, but sure. I'll poke around after work."

"Thanks Herbert! I owe you one!

Herbert nodded and waved. Take it easy, Ed." As Herbert walked back to Neal, Ed walked back to his office. One way or the other, they were going to get to the bottom of this.

* * *

The night was proving uneventful. Ed spent the night drinking more Budweiser and helping Lucy with her homework…thankfully, not in that order. Now it was shortly after midnight. He lay in bed with his eyes closed, trying to drift to sleep, but not doing a good job. He tried not to toss and turn, knowing it would disturb Marnie.

THUMP!

Ed woke with a start. He was sure he heard something downstairs. He slid his slippers onto his feet, then made his way out. He crept downstairs, nothing but the outside lights illuminating the house. Standing on the next-to-last step, Ed saw the door to the garage was open. A girl's figure stood in the doorway, apparently staring at the minivan. He couldn't tell many features except that the girl had long hair. As Ed went down one more step, the girl suddenly ran off to the living room. He couldn't quite tell if it was one of his daughters, or someone else. As she ran, he thought he saw movement in the garage. He took a deep breath, then decided to look in the garage first. Ed cautiously made his way in looking for any telltale signs of a rat or other intruder. The garage door was down, and the side door was locked. Nothing seemed disturbed. He cautiously walked inside.

CRACK!

Ed jumped slightly, then looked down. He stepped back, revealing the body of a scorpion. He sighed…at least it wasn't anything worse. He went over to the door, looking down…he saw nothing. Content, Ed started to head back out.

CLANG!

Ed turned to the source of the metallic noise, and saw a blue reel of film on its side, rolling towards him. It fell at Ed's feet, and he knelt down to pick it up. It was the same Pool Party reel…what was it doing here? He looked over to the van, and thought he saw a figure inside. Ed got up to take a closer look. It was another boy, who also looked about nine, sitting in the front passenger seat. The boy had an afro and a black tank top, and he was staring through the front window.

"Hey…you. Kid."

The boy very slowly turned to look at Ed, his cold stare similar to the one the other boy had. He glared at him, unblinking.

"Who are you, how did you get in here?!" His voice full of anger, Ed opened the van door, but the boy didn't react. Now that he came closer, he could see this kid's skin had the same veiny appearance as the first one. He kept his gaze as he put his finger up to his lips.

"Shhhhhhhhh..."

Ed snarled as he tried to grab the kid, leaping in through the open door. He landed hard on the chair, feeling nothing but the chair underneath. He got himself out of the van and pulled open the side door. The kid was nowhere to be found.

"Not again!" Ed pounded his fists on the side of the van. This was going to be another sleepless night. Frustrated, he got out from the garage and looked around the first floor for any sign of the girl he had seen, but there was no one. Maybe it was just his mind playing more tricks on him. He decided this was enough creepiness for the night, making his way back upstairs and into his bed.

* * *

**WEDNESDAY**

"Hello, Miss Mayfeather! I need to speak to you about your taxes for this year…"

"Mayfeather? Who the hell's Mayfeather?"

"Oh! Sorry, wrong number…" Ed hung up the phone. Great, another mistake. This day was not going well at all. Herbert had decided to spend his lunch break at the library…Ed was grateful for the help, but wished Herbert was around so he could properly update him on the situation. Listening to Neal babble about his trip to Napa Valley wasn't helpful at all. Ed was about to thumb through another set of files when he heard a deep voice coming from the doorway.

"Ed…I need to speak to you for a moment."

Ed was approached by his boss, Antoin. He wasn't just the boss of this office, he was one of the firm's founders…the Muller of Cameron-Muller, in fact. Antoin was a tall, slender black man in his late 40s, with short curly black hair and a mustache. Today he wore a peach-colored shirt, paired with a brown tie and slacks. He generally had a pleasant demeanor, but today Antoin had a look of concern on his face.

"Ed…what's been going on?

Ed just shook his head; he had already dragged one person involved in this mess, he didn't want to do the same to Antoin. "It's getting hard to focus lately. Things have been rough."

"Rough? What do you mean?"

"I'd rather not go into it, Antoin…it's really hard to talk about. It's pretty personal."

Antoin gave Ed a strange look, but it quickly shifted to one of sympathy. "Listen Ed…I like you. You seem to be a really nice guy. But if you keep screwing up like this, I can't keep you around!"

"I'm sorry, Antoin…it's just…"

Antoin put his hand on Ed's shoulder. "Listen. I know you can do it. I've seen you work before this week; you do a great job. You couldn't afford that BMW if you were bad at this, right?"

Ed did chuckle a little at that.

"So make us proud, Ed. I know you can get your head back in the game." Antoin patted Ed's shoulder and left. Ed turned and stared back at the glow of his computer screen. Easier said than done, he thought as he typed.


	4. Chapter 4

_**CHAPTER 4: A Purging**_

Another ordinary family dinner. Lucy, wearing a plain yellow shirt, was helping to cut the vegetables. She cut each one quickly, getting a stern look from Marnie.

"Careful, Lucy!" Marnie warned her daughter. "You don't want to cut yourself!"

Lucy smirked as she looked at her mother. "Don't worry, mom, I think I'm smart enough to know not to slice my own hand off."

"Good!" Stacy added. She wore a white Transformers T-shirt, and was tying up the bag she had just removed from the kitchen trash can. "Getting cut really hurts!"

Marnie saw Ed sitting at the kitchen table, downing another bottle of Budweiser. She sighed, then walked over and took the beer bottle out of her husband's hands. "Lay off for tonight, OK?"

"What?"

"You've been acting strange lately." Marnie looked at him seriously. "I think the beer is starting to affect you a little too much. I hear you walking around late at nights now. You mind telling me what the reason is?"

Ed thought for a moment. Just like with Antoin, he felt this was a fight he had to fight alone. Marnie would think he was insane if he said what was really going on. "It's really nothing I can talk about."

"Well if you don't get this fixed soon, there's going to be problems. You're making ME wake up late at nights, and I really don't like it."

"OK Marnie…" Ed sighed as Marnie poured the remaining beer down the drain. Being sober might be able to help him, anyway. It could help him tell the real horrors from the ones in his head.

* * *

Nighttime had fallen, and everyone was asleep…except for Ed. Despite being tired, his unease was keeping him awake. He looked over at the glowing red numbers of the alarm clock…shortly past 1 AM. He shut his eyes again, trying to force himself to fall asleep.

CRASH!

Ed quickly sat up in bed, waking up Marnie. "What…Ed?! What are you doing?"

"I thought I heard a noise."

"Again, Ed?" Marnie sighed. "Fine. If it makes you feel better, check it out. But don't spend too much time down there now, OK?"

"OK, honey!" Ed kissed Marnie as he exited the bedroom. He was getting annoyed too; this was beginning to be a routine thing. He slowly made his way downstairs, turning on the living room light once he got there. Once again, no one. He made his way around the living room, looking behind the recliner. As he looked behind the couch in a vain attempt to find anything, he heard a click, and music begun to play. Ed looked at the television, which had seemingly turned on by itself. The TV was playing a music video, the electronic-sounding song seeming to consist of the phrase 'Oogity Boogity' over and over. The video seemed to be a mish mash of random images.

Ed noticed two of the images were a comical depiction of a hanged man, and an equally cartoonish rendition of a guy with his throat cut. Creepy coincidence, he thought as he turned the TV off. He took one final look around…everything seemed to be in place, nothing was knocked over or disturbed…

CRASH!

His head turned to the direction of the garage; it sounded like something had fallen over in there. "Ugh, it's ALWAYS the garage…" He walked over, carefully opened the door, and turned on the light.

The garage was a mess. The lawn chair was in the same spot where it usually was, but upside down. The side door of Marnie's van was open and dented, Ed's lawnmower on the seat. And while most of the film boxes were still in their place, the box labeled '1976-1980' had been knocked over, the Super 8 reels scattered all over the floor.

Ed went through each one putting it back the box…'Disneyland 1-1-80'…'Fireworks 7-4-76'…'BBQ '79'…

Ed took a closer look at the blue-green reel. Same handwriting as the Pool Party video. He had a good idea as to what he was going to see, but he put it in the projector anyway. He turned it on, projecting the reel onto the bare wall. Sure enough, it started with footage of a completely unrelated family, fishing at a lake. Right away he recognized the kid fishing with his father…the one with the black tank top and afro…the exact same one he had seen in the van. He looked very much alive in this video; his skin was a normal shade of tan, without a single vein. Ed watched as the family then packed up their blue car, and the father having trouble opening the car door. The video then cut to the car, in the dark, all the doors chained together.

"Oh no you don't!"

Ed flipped the projector off before the film could continue; he wasn't interested in another snuff scene. He took the reel out, and opened up the first box of reels. He grabbed the Pool Party reel, took the reel out of its case, then threw them both on the ground. He then walked to the kitchen, throwing the reel's cases into the garbage. He then grabbed a pitcher from the cabinet, then walked over to the sink. As he filled it with water, he looked up through the kitchen window, and saw someone in the distance. It was the white-faced figure, just silently standing in the backyard. It seemed to be watching Ed intently.

Dismissing it as another figment of his imagination, Ed flipped off the figure and went right back to filling his pitcher.

Once it was full, Ed grabbed a matchbook from the kitchen counter, then walked back to the garage. The two reels were on the ground, right where he left them. Ed kneeled down and put the pitcher of water next to the reels. He then struck the match and dropped it on the two reels. The reels instantly went ablaze. Ed looked up from the fire to see the boy with the afro, staring gleefully at the flickering flames.

"Go away!"

The boy darted to the side, seeming to fade into the shadows. Ed stepped back, watching the fire burn. He smiled at the thought of these reels being destroyed…then cried out in surprise as he felt himself being pushed. He fell to the ground, and a searing pain shot through the top of Ed's head. He looked up and saw the afro-topped boy running away from him, into the house. Ed frantically felt around for the pitcher, the pain on his head getting worse. He finally found the pitcher, grabbing it and pouring it over his head. It made him feel better, although his scalp felt a little sensitive. Ed got up and looked at the reels, which had also been extinguished. Ed slowly got up, then stomped on the reels a few times for good measure, making sure the fire was completely out.

Ed walked back in, dazed, stumbling into the downstairs bathroom. Clutching his scalp, Ed flipped on the light and looked in the mirror. He had stopped the fire before it had burnt his scalp, but it did ruin his long curls, giving his hair a lopsided appearance. "How am I going to explain this tomorrow…" Ed took a deep breath and shook his head. This was getting truly out of hand now. His eyes went down to the electric razor, and an idea crossed his mind. Ed turned it on and put the blade to his head…

* * *

**THURSDAY**

The early morning; time to prepare for school. Lucy stepped out of her room, dressed in a bright orange shirt, just as Ed was walking by. "Good mor-Dad, you're BALD!"

"Sure am!" He ran his hand over his now-smooth bald head.

"What made you try that silly look?" Lucy asked.

"Hey, the bald look is in! I'm a regular Yul Brynner!"

"I think it's looks good, dad." Stacy walked out of her room and hugged her father. Today she had on a white shirt with green overalls, the buttons shaped like hearts. "The shaved head look really suits you."

"Well, I guess bald really IS beautiful." Marnie chuckled as she kissed Ed's cheek. "I think I'll miss the curls, though."

So will I, Ed thought to himself. "Hey, new school, new firm, what's one more change, right?"

"Just make sure you do well so you can keep your job at that new firm!" Marnie poked Ed in the shoulder. "I know you've been jittery lately, but don't bring that to work!"

Ed simply nodded and straightened his tie. "I'll try, honey!"

* * *

Another day at the office. Ed was on the phone with an elderly lady, who was clearly angry.

"You made me think I was going to go bankrupt paying these taxes, and you're asking me to CALM DOWN?!"

"I'm sorry, Miss Mayfeather…it was a mistake, and I'm sorry for it. Listen, give me time to correct this, and I'll-"

"I will do NO SUCH THING. Don't touch my files anymore, you kook. I'm going to find myself an accountant with his HEAD ON STRAIGHT!" Mrs. Mayfeather hung up the phone loudly, as if she threw down the receiver.

Ed buried his head in his hands; Antoin was not going to like this. How could he let this happen to himself? He had to figure out what was going on soon; his performance was worsening with every passing day. Antoin had warned him before…if this kept up, he wouldn't be working here beyond Friday. He decided now would be a good time to take his lunch break, taking his sandwich and legal pad with him. Since it was a little early, Herbert was the only one in the room. He looked up from his BLT, and blinked in surprise when he saw Ed.

"Err…trying out for King and I?"

"I don't want to get into it, Herb. Just tell me what you've learned."

"You owe me a week of beer; I spent hours researching this shit for you!"

"All right, I'll even make it Guinness. Marnie's been keeping me away from beer, so you can have it all!"

Herbert nodded. "So I spent the past couple days reading a ton of occult books, and the only thing your situation seems to fit is the legend of Bughuul."

"A bug ghoul?"

"No no, Bughuul…he was supposedly a pagan deity that fed off the souls of children. Legend has it he would stalk families, slightly changing his methods of haunting each time, so no one would suspect it's him. When he was ready, he'd would kill the entire family, and leave his symbol behind somewhere. There would always be one kid missing...the child whose soul he'd take."

"Uh huh." Ed nodded, still somewhat confused. "And you're saying this has happened a lot?"

"Oh yeah. I've found references to him in a lot of old articles. Christmas 1958...a family was found outside, buried in the snow, frozen to death. His symbol was found carved into a nearby tree. Summer of 1983...someone in Louisiana tied up a family and fed them to alligators. The same symbol was painted in blood nearby. And there was a cult that worshipped him in Oregon, but one day the entire cult just vanished. They never found a single trace of any of them. That was back in 1966."

"1966...that's the year that the Pool Party video was from!"

"A lot of the things they left behind were stolen and resold. A local man bought an etching of Bughuul, not knowing it was stolen. He died a few weeks later…and guess how he died?"

"I'm going to guess it wasn't peacefully in his sleep…"

"He was murdered…him and his family were drowned in their pool, in exactly the same way you described. So it's a given that those two events are…" Herbert then noticed Ed drawing a figure in all-black, with long black hair, on his legal pad. "Are you drawing what you saw?"

"Yeah, I want to make sure the details match up."

"Um, Ed…Bughuul is said to haunt images of himself."

Ed looked at his drawing for a moment, added whiskers and a guitar, and wrote 'Peter Criss' under it.

"If this stuff is true, if I were you I would destroy that reel. Throw it in the compactor, run it over, do whatever you have to do. And if you find more? Destroy them too!"

"Actually, it's funny you say that…"

Herbert raised an eyebrow. "You already did that?"

"Yep…right after I found a new reel. This one was from the 1970s, and once again, had a completely unfamiliar family."

"How did that one end?"

"I didn't watch the rest of it. I stopped once the video switched to night. You really think I want to subject myself to more snuff shit?"

"All right, point taken. You burned them both, you say?"

"Yeah. Here's the thing though…one of the kids in that video…I saw him running around the house too."

"Well, that makes sense, you see something traumatic, you tend to-"

"No no, Herb…this is the freaky thing. I saw the kid from the video BEFORE I watched it."

"…you sure about that?"

"It was the day before. He had the same afro, the same black tank top, the same EVERYTHING."

Herb sat silently, for once at a loss for words. "I'm not sure I can be any more help, Ed…"

"Actually, you can." Ed hurriedly wrote something onto his legal pad, under the drawing of 'Peter'. "This is the house I live in right now. Can you research this place for me?"

"You really gonna make the beer Guinness?"

"Anything you want, Herb!"

"All right, Ed. If I find anything I'll let you know." He started to get up when Ed stopped him.

"Herb?"

"Yeah Ed?"

"I think I've changed my tune about ghosts…"


	5. Chapter 5

**_CHAPTER 5: Close Contact_**

It was late afternoon as Ed drove home. He worked a little later than usual to make up for his errors, and had also grabbed himself a small snack at McDonald's. It was no Hamburger Hamlet, Ed thought, but it would have to do. Ed parked his car outside the garage and waved to Marnie, who was busy clipping the hedges. They looked quite well-manicured; Marnie had always put a lot of work into them.

"Hey Marnie!" He called out as he stepped out of the car.

Marnie put the clippers on the ground and smiled. "Hey Ed! How's everything?"

"Everything's fine!" A flat-out lie by this point, but the less Marnie knew the better.

"Good. There's something I want to ask you to do tonight."

"Um, sure, anything…"

"No beer. And no going downstairs. Just once this week, Ed, I would like to have a quiet night."

Ed simply nodded, knowing it was going to be a lot harder than it sounded.

"Good. Now come on, Ed, there's some salad left." Ed followed Marnie inside and saw Lucy and Stacy just finishing up their dinner.

"You did a great job helping, Lucy!"

"Yeah, I'm getting pretty good at making these salads, huh?"

"Like I said though, slow down. You almost cut your finger this time!"

As Lucy nodded, Stacy came into the room, drinking a glass of water. "Hey, Stacy!" Ed called out as he kneeled down to hug her. "How are you?"

"I've been great! I made a couple really good friends!"

"That's good! I'd love to meet them sometime!"

Stacy nodded. "Then tomorrow I have a big math test." Stacy nodded. "I'll be doing a lot of division."

"Oh, that'll be tough! You'll need to go to bed early!"

"And so does your father!" Marnie nodded. "Maybe then you'll stop running downstairs!"

Ed chuckled a little. "Hey, maybe it might help." He was willing to try just about anything.

* * *

Ed looked over at the alarm clock…just a little after midnight. Going to bed early hadn't helped much, and to be honest, neither had forgoing beer. The house was now dark and silent, but Ed couldn't help feeling that something was going to happen very soon.

Sure enough, the silence was broken by some dramatic music playing downstairs, which quickly stopped.

Ed took a deep breath…his curiosity getting the better of him once again, he moved out of bed very slowly. He looked over at Marnie; luckily, she was still asleep. He tried to be as quiet as possible as he snuck downstairs. He could see that some flickering light was already on downstairs, and he could still hear some sort of music. As he made his way into the living room, he saw that the television was on again, playing an old movie. In it, a man had just broken through a wall, seeing a ghostly face. This truly wasn't helping matters, he thought as she scanned the room. He saw a female figure dart from behind the couch and run into the kitchen.

The woman on TV was shaking badly. "They…come and go through here."

Ed turned the television off, and chased the figure into the kitchen. The figure stayed still, looking at Ed as he turned the kitchen light came on. The girl didn't vanish like the boys did when the light hit them. It turned out to be a very familiar person, glaring angrily.

"Lucy." Ed spoke in a very stern tone. "What are you doing down here?" Lucy said nothing, just looking back at him. "Lucy, what are you doing down here?!"

"I was ONLY going to watch a little bit of TV!"

"It's too late at night for this. What did I tell you about school?"

"School sucks." Lucy crossed her arms. "It's too hard."

"You know what else is hard? Trying to deal with someone who doesn't listen."

"About that…aren't you supposed to be in bed?" Lucy smirked.

"Get back upstairs. _Now._ I don't have time to deal with this."

Lucy huffed and went back upstairs. Ed sat in the kitchen chair and held his head. At the very least, this whole incident didn't cause a lot of noise. Maybe Ed could sneak back into the bedroom…if he was caught, he could easily say he was in the bathroom. He made his way back to the stairs…and saw the door to the garage was open again. He could hear the hum of a projector inside. Ed knew that door was closed when he first came down. He took a deep breath.

"Here we go again…"

Ed walked inside to see everything was in place this time. The projector was on the table, playing a reel. Ed looked to the wall and saw the 1970s family fishing. How could this be possible? He burned that reel! A small box was next to the projector. He went over to turn off the projector when he felt something icy tug as his pants. He turned around to see the boy from the pool, shooting him a nasty glare. He looked to the garage door and saw the boy from the barbecue sitting cross-legged, watching the reel.

"Why won't you leave me alone?!"

The two boys simply put their fingers to their mouths. "Shhhhhhhhhh…"

Ed whirled around, and came face-to-face with Bughuul. Now that he could see Bughuul up close, he saw he had black holes where his eyes should be, and smooth skin where his mouth should go. His hair was long and unkempt. His black overcoat and heavy boots were filthy. Ed froze momentarily, and Bughuul used the opportunity to grab Ed by the neck. He tried to punch and kick free, but they seemed to have no effect on the strange being.

"What…do you want from me?!" Ed choked out. Bughuul didn't answer, just tightened his grip on Ed. Bughuul then tilted his head to one side, letting Ed see the reel. The chained-up car was now on fire, and violently shaking. Ed could guess who was inside.

The reel ended, and suddenly the room was enveloped in light. Bughuul had vanished, leaving Ed standing there, somewhat dizzy. He turned around, and saw the kids were gone. He turned back around and looked in the doorway. There was Marnie in her night gown, with an angry expression.

"Ed, let's have a talk." Marnie walked over. "Every single night this week, you've been coming in here and making the weirdest racket."

"Lucy came down, and…"

"And you had to in here and play with the projector again afterwards? And look at this." She pointed at the dent in her van. "This is a new van, Ed. Why did you do this?"

"I didn't! There's something about…those reels." He pointed at them.

"These stupid movies?!" She tore the BBQ reel from its projector. "What the hell makes them so interesting? It's not some weird X-rated crap you're afraid to show me, is it?"

"No no no!" Ed rubbed his sore neck.

She read the label on the reel. "I told you to donate this Ed, this isn't one of mine!"

"Watch them yourself…they do horrible things…"

"Oh really?" Marnie took the reel out and un-raveled it, pulling it apart into pieces and throwing the shreds into the air. "Look, Ed. It's gone. You'll never be tortured by a roll of film again."

"But…I swear I saw…"

"I don't care WHAT the fuck you saw. Just get to bed, Ed. And _stop coming downstairs. _I'm getting sick and tired of your drunken stumbling."

Ed wanted to argue that he hadn't had a single drop tonight, but he had already angered her enough. He quietly nodded, then followed Marnie upstairs, looking back at the garage door a few times as he ascended. He followed her into bed, Marnie angrily putting the covers over herself.

"_Good night, Ed."_

Ed silently got in, looking at the ceiling for a few minutes, then closing his eyes. Ed thought he heard more movement downstairs, but he just shut his eyes tighter, trying to block them from his mind. He had already angered Marnie enough. After over an hour, he finally fell asleep.

* * *

**FRIDAY**

The end of the work week, Ed thought, and it couldn't come along any sooner. This being casual Friday, Ed wore a brown polo instead of a dress shirt and tie. He was feeling a little tense; Marnie and Ed barely talked that morning, since she was still angry about last night. Despite this, today was a much better day at work. This time Ed worked slowly, carefully, going over everything three times over. He was finally doing his work mistake-free.

He was also extremely slow, but at least it was some sort of progress.

At last, lunchtime came. He went into the lunchroom and immediately sat across from Herbert. He wore a white dress shirt with blue pinstripes; even on casual Friday, he always stayed somewhat formal.

"Thought you'd need to speak to me, Ed. Your ghost problem improving?"

Ed spoke low, even though the two were once again the only ones in there. "No Herb…I'm still seeing them. And one of them…the Bughuul thing…grabbed me."

"It _grabbed _you?"

"I swear it did…this ghost problem's getting even worse!"

"Well, it's not going to get any better…I researched your house."

"You find anything out?"

"Mhmm…Ed, you're not going to believe this…"


	6. Chapter 6

_**CHAPTER 6: A Simple Explanation?**_

"The first occupants of your house were an elderly couple." Herbert continued as Ed listened intently. "They passed away of natural causes just a week apart from each other. Then the next occupants were a family of four…one boy, one girl."

Ed nodded. "And…what happened to them?"

"What happened to them was…" He took a long sip of his Coke. "…the kids grew up, moved away, and eventually the parents followed. They're all still alive, I checked."

Ed blinked in surprise. "…and then what?"

"And then you guys came along."

"So you mean to tell me that NOTHING bad happened in my house?!"

Herbert ran his fingers through his hair. "You know, most people would be happy to hear this news."

"Herb, we're back to square one here!"

"Not necessarily, it just means that whatever went wrong in your house happened very recently."

"Well how recently? We just moved into the freakin' place a month ago, how could something happen betwe-"

"Wait, wait, back up." Herbert put his hand up. "I just thought of something. You found these reels after everything was unpacked."

"Yeah."

"So these…death videos…could have come from your old house?"

"They might've…I wasn't the one who packed them all, the girls did. I just arranged them once they made it here."

Herbert sighed. "This information could have been helpful a little earlier, Ed…"

"Hey, I didn't start seeing this shit until I moved, I just thought it had something to do with the house!"

"All right, all right, look…" Herbert pushed a legal pad to Ed. "Write down all the information about the house you lived in before. Everything. The dates you lived there, the dates you moved out, the guy you bought the house from…"

Ed nodded as he hurriedly scribbled out his old house's details. "You'll probably know more about that house than I do after this!"

"You never researched it?"

"I got it pretty cheap about a year ago…I never questioned why it sold for so little. A house is a house, that's what I told the realtor."

Herbert bit his lip. "This is ringing all kinds of alarm bells here. If what's going on has something to do with that house, you may have put yourself in really hot water. Ed, you may be days away from something really bad."

"All right, all right, I get that I screwed up. But this can all be fixed, right?"

"We'll see about that." Herbert looked over the address on the legal pad. "Well, it won't be too hard to get information, your old house is just across the state. I'm going to stay here until I get information, Ed. I will call you when I learn something, so stay alert."

* * *

Ed's drive back home was uneventful. He parked his BMW, seeing Stacy get off her bike, taking her sparkly purple bike helmet off. She wore a light pink shirt and overalls. "Hi daddy! How did work go?"

"It went well…" He got out of his car and waved. "How was school?"

"I was the _only one_ who got a perfect score on the division test!"

"Sounds like you're a natural at it!" Ed hugged her. "I'm so proud of you, Stacy. You've made me very happy…and believe me, I needed something to be happy about!" He made his way inside and saw Marnie in the kitchen, dressed in a white shirt decorated with a blue and purple paisley pattern.

"Marnie…"

Marnie turned around and looked at Ed, noticing the look of nervousness on his face. "What?"

"I'm so sorry about last night…about this whole week…I don't know what's been wrong with me lately. I've been so out of it lately."

"That's an understatement." Marnie nodded. "Well, I'm glad you apologized. Are you feeling any better now?"

"Not really…"

"Well, it's the weekend now, you'll have some time to unwind and take your mind off your troubles."

Ed nodded. "That would be nice."

* * *

Back at Cameron-Muller, Herbert pored over the notes. He had called the real estate company who had sold Ed his house the year before, and they had told him they would have to find the specific agent who sold it. Herbert tapped his finger on the desk; what was taking them so long, it had been a half-hour…

"Hey there!"

Herbert looked up to see Antoin in a purple polo, Cameron-Muller mug in hand. "Working late, Herb?"

"Um, yeah Antoin! Not much longer though! I just want to make sure I do a good job."

"Try not to worry yourself too much, now! We need you on your best, Herb. We can't afford to lose you!"

Antoin walked away, leaving Herbert staring at the telephone. He expected the call back any moment now…

RIIIIIING!

There it was. Herbert hurriedly picked up the phone. "Cameron-Muller, this is Herbert Stelson speaking!"

"Hey Herbert!" A Hispanic-accented voice answered. "It's Doug Ortega. I'm returning your call about the house."

Herbert nodded; the call he had been waiting for. "Yes. So did anything strange happen there?"

"Actually, yeah! I remember it took years to sell the house…I finally found a buyer late last year. It had a pretty big stigma attached to it…I wanted to tell the guy about what happened, but he said he didn't care. 'A house was a house', that's the exact words he told me."

And the exact words Ed said to Herbert. "OK then…so what exactly was the stigma?"

"I won't beat around the bush here. There was a murder there."

Herbert's heart sank. "A…murder?"

"Yeah, it was really vicious too! This family of four…it happened-"

"Shortly after they moved in." Herbert cut in.

"Actually, yeah, yeah it did!"

"And was there a symbol painted at the crime scene?"

"Uh…yeah…wait, if you knew all this already, why did you call me?!"

"No time to explain, thanks Doug!" Herbert threw the receiver, then hurriedly tried to dial Ed's number…

* * *

Lucy was sitting on the kitchen chair, twirling the phone cord around her finger as she talked away. Today she wore an electric blue shirt and jeans. "Yeah, Luke dropped _another_ beaker in science! Can you believe-"

"Talking to Allison again?" Stacy had snuck up behind her; Lucy was startled to hear her sister's voice.

"Hold on!" Lucy turned to her sister and nodded. "Uh-huh! She's going to come over tomorrow!"

"Tell her I want to meet her in the backyard."

"You hear that? All right!" Lucy turned to Stacy, a smile on her face. "You'll like Allison. She's super nice!"

Stacy smiled. "It's nice making new friends."

* * *

Herbert threw down the receiver. Busy. Dammit. Herbert bit his tongue; he HAD to get over there himself to warn Ed. Get him and his family the hell out of that house before any more hell came down on them. He ran out the door of his office to the stairs, nearly barreling into Antoin.

"Whoa, what's the rush, Herb?"

"Did Ed go straight home?"

"Far as I know…why?"

Herbert didn't answer, just ran down the stairs, practically jumping into his white VW Beetle. Herbert's hands shook as he turned the key and quickly backed out of his parking space. He floored the accelerator and drove out, going about 10 miles over the speed limit. Herbert's heart was pounding; he knew he was breaking all kinds of laws, and frankly he didn't care. If he wasted any more minutes, it could be too late. He swerved in and out of traffic, cutting off everyone on the road. Herbert could hear honking, screaming and cursing behind him, but he ignored them all. Herbert's eyes went upward to see a red light…he hadn't even noticed one was coming. He kept his foot on the gas, hoping maybe if he went fast enough he could get through it with no trouble.

HONK!

Herbert looked out the left to see a red Jeep Cherokee…and he was driving directly into its path. He barely had enough time to smash the brakes as the SUV closed in…

* * *

Ed looked at the kitchen phone; he had spent the past couple hours sitting next to it. Except for some drunk guy who tried to order a pizza, he got no calls whatsoever. Darkness was beginning to fall, and he could hear Wheel of Fortune just beginning. If Herbert had found something, it definitely wasn't significant. He left the kitchen and entered the living room. Marnie was sitting on the couch, holding a bottle of beer in one hand and a can of Pepsi in the other.

"Marnie…"

Marnie looked up from the TV to see Ed, noticing the look of nervousness on his face. "Ed, is everything OK?"

"Yeah…I was just expecting a call that never came."

"Think of it as a blessing! You needed a break anyway! Come on…" Marnie patted the couch cushion next to her. "Sit down with me and relax."

She kept telling him to relax…he wished he could. He sat down, still feeling a bit pensive. Marnie handed him the beer, and he readily took a swig. "This is your _only one_, OK Ed?"

"All right…only one."

The two of them sat in silence watching the show. As a commercial came on, Ed saw Lucy descend the stairs and come into the living room, glass of water in hand. She sat down quietly and sipped.

"Hey Lucy!" Ed tried to start some conversation. "I heard your friend was coming over!"

"Yep. She's gonna meet me in the backyard."

"That sounds like it'll be fun!" Marnie smiled. "Hey, maybe your father can grill us up some burgers!"

"Um…sure." It would certainly be a better barbecue than that 70's family had.

"Dad? Sorry I snuck downstairs last night." Lucy looked a little upset. "I shouldn't have done that, I know you've been having trouble sleeping lately…"

Ed smiled back. "It's OK, Lucy. Everything's fine now. There won't be any arguing or hard feelings…just a nice, quiet, relaxing night with my family."

"Awesome!" Lucy got up from the couch just as the show came back on. "Love you guys…be right back!"

The two sat, watching the contestants spin away. After a few turns Ed heard the front door open, and in walked Stacy. She sat next to Marnie, smiling. "It's a pretty night, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's pretty nice out!" Marnie took another sip of her soda.

Stacy scooted over Marnie's lap, next to Ed. Ed put his arm around his daughter. "Ahh, this is just what I needed…" Ed turned to see Lucy was now in the recliner, slumped over. "Is Lucy all right?"

"She had to take a nap." Stacy looked at Ed lovingly. "I think you should get some rest too. Mom told me what's been happening to you!"

Ed looked down at his beer, and gave a small chuckle. "Maybe after the show's over. I really shouldn't have even drank this. I don't want to be seeing things again."

"Just stop at one, daddy!" Stacy smiled. "One is all you really need!"

"It was Stacy's idea to let you have just that one, Ed, so be thankful!" Marnie smiled at Ed as she drank the last of her Pepsi.

"Thank you, honey!" He gave the OK sign to his daughter. "I just need to remember that all this weird stuff is all in my head!"

"It's not in your head." Stacy interjected. "Yet."

Marnie looked at Stacy, confused. "Honey, what dooo yooooou meeee…" Her words suddenly started to slur, her head beginning to sway. Her grip on the soda can became weak, and it fell to the floor. She flopped backwards onto the couch, closing her eyes. As she did, Ed saw white foam trickle from the corner of her mouth. He looked down at the soda can Marnie dropped; he could see something green and glowing oozing out of it. He looked over at Lucy; white foam was beginning to ooze from her mouth too. Ed turned back at Stacy, whose smile had turned to a more somber expression.

"I saw the videos long before you did, daddy. It was nice seeing the old house one more time." Stacy kissed him on the cheek. "You're really starting to look awful. Maybe you need some fresh air."

Ed was taken aback by her comment. Before he could respond, he noticed his daughter's face beginning to blur. He looked down his beer bottle, seeing the same green glow on the bottom of it. His eyes darted over to the television, the spinning wheel becoming nothing but an unfocused rainbow, the sounds seeming so distant and muffled. He got up, only to crumple to the floor, unable to move. While the figures were blurry, Ed thought he saw the two ghostly boys walk into the living room before he lost consciousness.

* * *

Ed slowly opened his eyes, unsure of exactly how much time had passed. He noticed he was no longer in his living room; instead Ed was outside, in the backyard, staring up into the night sky. It was raining hard. He was still dazed, but aware enough to notice his legs had been tied together. He tried moving his arms…no good, his hands were tied behind his neck, his arms arranged in such a way that his elbows touched the top of his head. He tried to open his mouth, but it was taped shut. Ed slowly turned his head to the right; Marnie had been given the same treatment. He turned his head to the left to see Lucy, who too had been tied up. Bughuul was standing nearby, watching intently. Stacy was nowhere to be seen. He thought about struggling out of his bonds, but he was too groggy; it took a great deal of effort just to move his head. Ed wondered if he was going to lay there forever.

Then he heard a noise.

Ed slowly turned his head to the right again to see the source of this noise…his lawnmower, being pushed by someone. He had a feeling he knew who was pushing it, but the darkness prevented him from telling too many features. The figure held out a flashlight, illuminating the ground in front of the mower. As it approached, Ed realized the mower was headed right for Marnie's head. He tried to scream, to get her to move, but nothing came out. Marnie seemed frozen in place, and didn't even try to avoid the oncoming mower. Ed watched helplessly as the mower ran over her, noisily shredding her face into bits of blood and bone. The person pushing went back and forth, spraying the yard with bloody chunks of meat. Then the person backed up, seemingly to admire their handiwork. Everything from Marnie's breastbone on up was a hacked up mess, the lawn now covered in red. Most of Marnie's neck was gone, only the bloodied vertebrae remained. The skin on her face had been shredded way, leaving Marnie's skull exposed and one of her eyeballs sliced open.

The mower lurched forward, now heading straight for Ed. Try as he might, he simply could not find the energy to move. All Ed did was look up at the mower, and the person pushing it. Now that it was close enough he could finally see who it was.

It was Stacy, dressed in a raincoat, a blank expression on her face. She was holding the flashlight and mower with one hand as the other held the Super 8 camera. Ed looked at his daughter dejectedly; his worst fear had been confirmed. Unable to move, all Ed could do was stare as he heard the roar of the mower approach.

Then all Ed could see was silver.

Then red.

Then nothing.


	7. Chapter 7

_**CHAPTER 7: Quite The Discovery**_

ORANGE COUNTY PRESS

Sunday, October 12, 1986

FAMILY MASSACRE ROCKS ORANGE COUNTY

by Rob Scott

Orange County, CA-A local teenager made a grisly discovery yesterday when she went over to a friend's house and found a brutal murder scene.

The dead have been identified as three members of the De Luzio family; 40-year old Edward, 38-year old Marnie, and 12-year old Lucy. A fourth family member, 10-year old Stacy, is nowhere to be found, and believed to have been abducted by the murderer.

The three were tied up and run over by their own lawn mower, their remains loaded into trash bags and left in the back yard. A strange, five pointed symbol was carved into a nearby tree. Neighbors did recall hearing the sounds of a lawn mower late Friday night, but no one went over to investigate. Their bodies were discovered early Saturday by Lucy's classmate, 13-year old Allison Lindsay, who had been invited over by Lucy shortly before the murders.

"There was red everywhere in the backyard," Lindsay told us. "I should have known enough not to look inside those bags…I don't think I'll ever forget that disgusting sight."

"What could possess someone to do something this horrible?"

Coincidentally, the murders took place on the same day one of Edward's coworkers died; Herbert Stelson, a fellow accountant at Cameron-Muller, was killed in a car accident just a few miles away.

If anyone has any information about Stacy De Luzio's disappearance, or the identity of the murderer, please call the Orange County Police Department.


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